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Societal Challenges

Climate &Ecosystems

We are facing amplified global warming since the 1970s, a rising sea level, regional climate shifts, and extreme climate events that severely impact the human habitat. Thus, we have an obligation to conduct research that provides an understanding of present and past variations in regional and global climate.

Little is known about the lower depth limit of life. The factors that control the abundance and activities of microorganisms at depth are still poorly understood. There is only a very limited number of boreholes with a focus on the Deep Biosphere.

Each day extraterrestrial matter collides with Earth. Throughout Earth's history, giant impacts created wide craters and devastations affecting the whole planet. These events may have wiped out major portions of the fauna and flora on the Earth. Still, large impacts are the fastest geological events creating new ground for evolution.

Volcanic eruptions may contribute to global climate change by changing the Earth's atmosphere. This can either be warming of the atmosphere through gases such as CO2, or global cooling through suspended volcanic particles. Understanding the interplay between volcanic activities and climate variations requires knowledge of both volcanic and climate history.

Volcanoes projects ...

SustainableGeoresources

Bacteria, viruses and archaea dwell at depths to several thousand meters below ground and in temperatures of more than 120° C. With their metabolism they contribute to the generation of carbohydrates and mineral resources. These rich ecosystems are studied by scientific drilling.

Inside the Earth there is heat so intense that it melts rock and drives tectonic processes and planetary differentiation. Geothermal energy can be tapped from the Earth's natural heat at volcanoes or mantle plumes. Holes drilled into a subsurface geothermal system, or in volcanic areas, can drive turbines and generate electrical power.

NaturalHazards

Active faulting is by far the most common earthquake-generating process. However, little is known on fault processes. Only deep drilling provides access to seismogenic zones for monitoring and to retrieve samples from there.

Volcanic eruptions are one of Earth's most dramatic and violent agents of change. Powerful explosive eruptions can drastically alter land and water for tens of kilometers around a volcano. Some volcanoes exhibit precursory unrest that if detected, (e.g. by drilling), and analyzed in time allows eruptions to be anticipated.

Currently ca. 170 impact craters are known on Earth; about one third of those structures are not exposed on the surface, and can only be studied by geophysics or drilling. Drill cores yield information on the subsurface structures, and provide ground-truth for geophysical studies.

Plate margins are areas where the most life-threatening geological phenomena occurs. Accompanying ocean-margin geohazards include tsunamis, landslides, powerful volcanic eruptions, and other threats. Scientific drilling has a high potential for risk-mitigation studies, and must be an integral and indispensable part of this effort.

OmanDP Phase 2 coring is now complete! We now have 1700 m of core (100% recovery) making it's way to Japan for detailed core description onboard the Chikyu Research Vessel, which will be berthed in the port of Shimizu for the duration of the core description campaign.

Work on the Chikyu will take place from 5th July to 5th September 2018.

We are looking for a range of expertise in Igneous petrology, Alteration and metamorphism, Structural geology, Geochemistry, Paleomagnetism, Physical properties, and those with data processing capabilities (e.g., X-ray tomography).

on Planning, Management and Execution of Continental Scientific Drilling Projects. Deadline for application: March 15, 2018

ICDP invites Principal Investigators, project managers and leading scientists of upcoming continental scientific drilling projects to apply for this course.

The course will be held from May 15-17 at the KTB GeoZentrum at Windischeschenbach, Germany, and will touch upon relevant aspects for managing a scientific drilling project, including Proposal Writing & Multi-Source Fundraising, Drilling Workflow & Terminologies, Health, Safety and Environment, On-Site Management, Sample Handling and Curation, Data Management, and Outreach.

Applications should include a letter of interest and a CV. Deadline for application is March 15, 2018; decisions will be communicated by end of March. Preference will be given to applicants involved in ICDP drilling projects, applicants from ICDP member countries, developing countries, and those from countries considering ICDP membership. For the successful candidates, costs including those for travelling, visa, and accommodation will be covered by the ICDP.

A continuous, high-resolution, record for these long time scales from Nam Co can be recovered by drilling to study sediment budget changes under varying climatic and tectonic settings, and contribute to a better understanding of the Quaternary geomagnetic field. Members of the international scientific community interested in the planning of and participating in the research project, are invited to apply for participation in the workshop. It will be held in Beijing, China, from 22-24 May 2018 to further develop the project’s scientific goals and to discuss technical and logistic issues for a full proposal to ICDP. Interested parties are requested to submit their application by 15 January 2018 to Torsten Haberzettl (torsten.haberzettl@uni-jena.de) and Liping Zhu (lpzhu@itpcas.ac.cn) with contact details, a summary of research interests and expertise, and a brief description of the intended project contribution.

first geological video contest for everybody; an initiative by the "Società Geologica Italiana".

Deadline for video upload: May 20, 2018

“ON THE ROCKS” is dedicated to “geology" as seen by a broad audience of “geologists”, from students to scientists, but also to professionals or amateurs. A special category is dedicated to PhD students. The idea is to share, promote and disseminate our “passion” for the Earth across disciplines, education, countries. We look for creative, informal videos, where stories are illustrated in only 180 seconds.